Hairstyling Tool With Automatically Reversing Cylinder

ABSTRACT

A hair styling tool includes a body, a cylinder extending from the body, the cylinder rotatable relative to the body, a motor for rotating the cylinder, a heater to heat the cylinder, and a styling arm pivotally attached to the body. The hair styling tool having a generally clam shell configuration, wherein the styling arm is movable between an open position and a closed position in which the styling arm contacts the cylinder. The styling arm may also include a brush head with fixed or retractable bristles and/or a smoothing plate. The hair styling tool also includes a detector for detecting the direction of movement of the styling arm along a user&#39;s hair, the detector being in communication with the motor for causing the motor to automatically rotate the cylinder in a direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the styling arm along the user&#39;s hair.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a hair styling tool, and more specifically, toa hair styling tool with an automatically reversing cylinder allowing auser to more efficiently and more effectively brush and style hair byoptimizing the brushing, smoothing and styling of each hair section.

This invention relates to a hair styling tool, and more specifically, toa hair styling tool with an automatically reversing cylinder allowing auser to more efficiently and more effectively brush and style hair byoptimizing the brushing, smoothing and styling of each hair section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Brushing hair pulls oil from the scalp region and spreads it throughoutthe hair, adding body and sheen to the hair and keeping the hairhealthy. To add even more body or to style hair in particular shapes,many people blow dry their hair as they brush it. When simultaneouslyblow drying and brushing hair, desirable results are achieved by pullingthe bristles of a hair brush through the hair while heat, such as in theform of hot air, is applied directly to the hair. One method of brushinginvolves partially rotating the brush so that the bristles move throughthe hair. A user can usually rotate a brush about one half turn manuallyand, after each half turn, the user pulls the brush from the hair. Thebrush is then replaced in a new location, usually adjacent to thepreceding location, and the process is repeated. Various brushes havebeen developed as an improved hair brushing means. Exemplary embodimentsof such brushes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,635 to Marino, andU.S. Pat. No. 7,631,646 to Ragosta both of which are hereby incorporatedin their entirety by reference.

Each of the brushes described have different ways of determining thedirection and rotation for a cylinder associated with the brush. Forexample, in one embodiment the cylinder direction is changed manuallyusing a switch. In another embodiment the direction of the cylinder ischanged using either a mechanical means or an opto-electric sensor.

However, all of these methods, while functional, are either slow toreact to a change in direction or cumbersome by forcing the user to stopstyling and change the direction.

Therefore, there is a need for an automatically reversing cylinderallowing a user to more efficiently and more effectively brush and stylehair by optimizing the brushing, smoothing and styling of each hairsection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one exemplary embodiment, a hair styling tool is provided including abody, a cylinder extending from the body, the cylinder rotatablerelative to the body, a motor for rotating the cylinder, and a stylingarm attached to the body. The styling arm may be adapted to make contactwith the cylinder and the styling arm may be movable between an openposition in which the styling arm does not contact the cylinder and aclosed position in which the styling arm contacts the cylinder. In apreferred embodiment, there is a spacing means between the styling armand the cylinder so that in the closed position the styling arm does nottouch the surface of the cylinder. The styling arm may include a brushhead and/or a smoothing plate. In one exemplary embodiment, the hairstyling tool may have a hinged or clam shell configuration.

A brush head of the hair styling tool may include a brush head housing,a smoothing plate housed within the brush head housing and a blade onwhich bristles are formed, the blade located between the housing and thesmoothing plate. The bristles may be movable between an extendedposition in which the bristles protrude past the smoothing plate and acollapsed position in which the bristles are retracted with respect tothe smoothing plate. The brush head housing may also include a bristlerelease knob, wherein the bristle release knob is adapted to contact theblade to maintain the blade in the extended position and wherein thebristle release knob is movable to be spaced from the blade to permitthe blade to be placed in the collapsed position with the bristlesretracted.

The hair styling tool may further include a heater adapted to heat thecylinder. The cylinder may have surface holes to dissipate heat and mayinclude grooves or other types of indentations to provide additionalfriction between the cylinder and the brush head or smoothing plate.

In one exemplary embodiment, the blade is removable from the brush headand replaceable with one of a plurality of different blades having, forexample, varying bristle patterns, densities and lengths or having nobristles at all. Additionally, in another exemplary embodiment, thebrush head is removable and replaceable with one of a plurality ofdifferent brush heads.

In one exemplary embodiment there is provided a tool suitable for hairstyling having an elongated body and a cylinder that rotates relative tothe body in both a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction.The cylinder can also have a heater to heat the cylinder and/or astyling arm heater for heating the styling arm. The tool also has amotor to rotate the cylinder and a pivotal non-rotating styling arm thatcan be opened and closed on the cylinder for hair styling. The stylingarm can have a brush head at its distal end for hair brushing andstyling. The brush head can have a removable blade, from which thebristles extend, that allows for a plurality of interchangeable bladesfor the user to style their hair, each blade having a different bristleconfiguration. The brush head includes a smoothing plate, between twosets of bristles, and at least some of the bristles extend beyond thesmoothing plate. The smoothing plate also has a concave surface curvedthe same degree as the cylinder.

The styling arm is supported by the body, and is movable between an openposition and a closed position proximate to the cylinder for hairstyling. A spring can be used for biasing the styling arm into the openposition. A switch activates the motor to rotate the cylinder when thestyling arm is moved toward the closed position from the open position.There is a spacing means for preventing the styling arm from overloadingthe motor or from contacting the cylinder. In one exemplary embodiment,the spacing means comprises a projection that engages a detent in thebody, on the styling arm. Alternatively, the spacing means can comprisea projection on the body to engage a detent in the spacing arm.

The tool also has a detector for detecting the direction of movement ofthe styling arm along a user's hair. The detector is a rotatable memberthat is mechanically coupled to a shaft that is movable in and out of anair gapped inductor coil. Preferably, the shaft is made from a magneticfield inducing material, such as, for example, iron. Nominal inductanceof the air gapped inductor coil will vary between 75 uh to 185 uhdepending on the shaft location with respect to the air gapped inductorcoil. The inductor is designed as a part of an RLC tank oscillator thatwill change the oscillation frequency output by an operational amplifierbetween 8 KHz to 8.88 KHz.

In one exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method to style aperson's hair using the hair styling tool. First, allowing the heater toheat the cylinder. Then, placing the hair between the cylinder and thestyling arm near the scalp with the styling arm in its open position.Next, moving the styling arm to its closed position and causing theswitch to activate the motor to rotate the cylinder. Finally, while thecylinder is rotating, pulling the tool toward the tips of the hair,thereby styling the hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying figures where:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-section, side elevation view of an exemplaryhair styling tool of the present invention having a rotatable cylinderand a movable styling arm;

FIG. 2 is a semi-schematic perspective view of an exemplary hair stylingtool of the present invention with the rotating cylinder removed;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D are schematic side views of exemplary smoothingplates and cylinders of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a semi-schematic perspective view of an exemplary distal endof the hair styling tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an exemplary hair styling tool of the presentinvention with a styling arm in the closed position;

FIG. 6 is a semi-schematic, partial cross-section, side elevation viewof another exemplary hair styling tool of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of yet another exemplary hair stylingtool of the present invention;

FIG. 8A is a partially schematic front view of the distal end of anexemplary hair styling tool of the present invention with compressiblebristles in an extended position;

FIG. 8B is a semi-schematic front view of the distal end of FIG. 8A withthe bristles in a collapsed position;

FIG. 8C is a side view of a styling arm and a cylinder of a hair stylingtool of the present invention;

FIG. 8D is a semi-schematic front view of a distal end of a hair stylingtool of the present invention having a smoothing plate without bristles;

FIG. 9A is a semi-schematic front view of a distal end of a hair stylingtool of the present invention with retractable bristles in the extendedposition;

FIG. 9B is a semi-schematic front view of the distal end of FIG. 9A withretractable bristles in the collapsed position;

FIG. 9C is a side view of a brush head and a cylinder of a hair stylingtool of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-section, side elevation view of yet anotherexemplary hair styling tool of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a semi-schematic side view of yet another exemplaryembodiment of a hair styling tool of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front view of a distal end of an exemplary hair brush ofthe present invention having a fixed bristles brush head incorporatingan integral smoothing plate;

FIG. 13 is another exemplary embodiment of a tool suitable for hairstyling;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a cylinder useful for styling hairaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an air gapped inductor coil detector fordetecting the direction of movement of the styling arm;

FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram for controlling the direction of thecylinder using the detector of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a graph of a tank circuit and output frequency when aninductor L1 in the circuit of FIG. 16 is 185 uh;

FIG. 18 is a graph of a tank circuit and output frequency when theinductor L1 in the circuit of FIG. 16 is 75.5 uh; and

FIG. 19 is a flowchart diagram of an induction sensor system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In previous systems, mechanical and opto-electrical devices where usedto determine the direction that a user was using the hair tool to styletheir hair. Although these system did reverse the direction of thecylinder, users often had to pause while styling their hair for thechange in direction to take place. The present invention obviates thisproblem by quickly and efficiently determining the direction that theuser is moving the hair styling tool and automatically changingdirection. The system is so effective, that motion and direction of thehair styling tool along a single strand of hair is detectable.

The system, methods, circuits and devices that implement the embodimentsof the various features and advantages of the invention will now bedescribed with reference to the drawings.

The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrateembodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of theinvention. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearancesof the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various placesin the specification are not necessarily all referring to the sameembodiment.

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. In addition, the first digitof each reference number indicates the figure where the element firstappears.

As used in this disclosure, except where the context requires otherwise,the term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising”,“comprises” and “comprised” are not intended to exclude other additives,components, integers or steps.

In the following description, specific details are given to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific detail. Well-known circuits,structures and techniques may not be shown in detail in order not toobscure the embodiments. For example, circuits may be shown in blockdiagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processthat is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, ora block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as asequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallelor concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may berearranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. Aprocess may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, asubroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function,its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the callingfunction or the main function.

Moreover, a storage may represent one or more devices for storing data,including read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magneticdisk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devicesand/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term“machine readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable orfixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels andvarious other mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, or a combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in amachine-readable medium such as a storage medium or other storage(s).One or more than one processor may perform the necessary tasks inseries, concurrently, distributed or in parallel. A code segment mayrepresent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, asubroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or a combination ofinstructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment maybe coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passingand/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted through a suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

In the following description, certain terminology is used to describecertain features of one or more embodiments of the invention.

The term “tank circuit” refers to an RLC circuit (or LCR circuit) thatis an electrical circuit consisting of a resistor, an inductor, and acapacitor, connected in series or in parallel.

Various embodiments provide a system, circuit and a method for anautomatically reversing cylinder allowing a user to more efficiently andmore effectively brush and style hair by optimizing the brushing,smoothing and styling of each hair section. One embodiment of thepresent invention provides a system comprising one or more detectioncircuits for determining motion and direction of a hair styling tool. Inanother embodiment, there is provided a method for using the system. Thesystem, circuit and method will now be disclosed in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1, a hair styling tool 20 includes an elongated body22. The specific dimensions of the body are not critical, but the bodyshould generally allow a user to comfortably hold the hair styling toolduring use. In one exemplary embodiment, the body 22 may be adapted tohouse other mechanical and electrical components of the hair stylingtool 20, as described in more detail below.

With reference also to FIG. 2, in one exemplary embodiment of the hairstyling tool 20, a mounting channel 72 extends from a distal end of thebody 22. As used herein, “distal” shall generally refer to a position ordirection away from a base of the body 22 or towards a tip of themounting channel 72. Conversely, “proximal” shall generally refer to aposition or direction toward the base of the body 22 or away from thetip of the hot air channel 72. As described in more detail below, themounting channel 72 serves to provide additional support to a cylinder24 rotatably mounted on the mounting channel.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in one exemplary embodiment, a hot airchannel 71 may be connected to a hot air fan assembly 44 housed in thebody 22 such that hot air provided by the hot air fan assembly travelsthrough the body via the hot air channel. Intake ports 70 in the body 22admit outside air to an inlet of the hot air fan assembly 44. An opening82 at a distal end of the hot air channel 71 allows the air to escapethe body 22 and enter, for example, a cylinder attached to a distal endof the body as described below. A hot air switch 42 electricallyconnected to the hot air fan assembly 44 allows a user to control thehot air supply provided by the hot air fan assembly.

An elongated hollow cylinder 24 may be rotatably mounted over themounting channel 72. The mounting channel 72 may include a groove 81into which teeth 83 protruding from a cap 27 of the cylinder 24 may besnapped to mount the cylinder to the mounting channel. A base 25 of thecylinder may be adapted to be connected to a distal portion of the body22. In one exemplary embodiment, the base 25 of the cylinder 24 isconnected to the body 22 by a slip fit. In one exemplary embodiment,teeth (not shown) on an inner circumference of the base 25 mesh withteeth on a cylinder drive gear 50 at a distal end of the body 22 toalign the cylinder 24 to the body. A distal end of the cylinder 24 mayinclude the cap 27 to seal the distal end of the cylinder and prevent,for example, hot air provided through the hot air channel 71 fromescaping from the distal end of the cylinder. The cap 27 may containteeth 83 to allow the cylinder to be mounted and secured by aninterference fit to the mounting channel 72 as described above. Thespecific shape or dimensions of the cap 27 are not critical as long asthe cap substantially covers the distal end of the cylinder 24 andprevents a significant amount of air from escaping from the distal end.

In one exemplary embodiment, the cylinder 24 includes a plurality ofholes 30 which allow a flow of hot air from the hot air channel 72 to anexterior of the hair styling tool 20 and to contact hair adjacent thecylinder. In one exemplary embodiment, the holes 30 are circular andarranged in rows, evenly spaced throughout the cylinder 24. The evenspacing of the holes 30 throughout the cylinder 24 allows for evendistribution of hot air throughout the cylinder and also for uniformheating of the cylinder, thus providing uniform drying when the cylinderis applied to hair, as described in more detail below. Although oneconfiguration of the holes 30 is described herein, the specificconfiguration of the holes is not critical, and the holes may bearranged in any configuration allowing hot air to travel from the hotair channel 72 through the cylinder 24. Additionally, although thedescribed holes 30 are circular, the shape of the holes is not critical.The holes 30 also serve to increase the friction between the brush headhousing and the cylinder, increasing the brushing effectiveness on thehair.

With reference to FIGS. 3A-3D, alternate exemplary surface patterns ofthe cylinder 24 are shown. The alternate surface patterns, which aregenerally wave-shaped grooves 54 a, 54 b, 54 c, 54 d, allow for varyingfriction along the cylinder's surface to provide different stylingoptions when hair is placed between the cylinder 24 and a smoothingplate 108 as described in more detail below. The grooves may also beused on a cylinder 24 having holes 30 (holes not shown for clarity).With reference to FIG. 3D, the smoothing plate 108 adapted to contactthe cylinder 24 may include grooves 55 to further increase the frictionbetween the brush head housing and the cylinder.

The rotation assembly of the hair styling tool 20 will now be describedwith further reference to FIG. 1. An electric motor 39 may be housedwithin the body 22, the motor being adapted to rotate the cylinder 24.In one exemplary embodiment, the motor powers a drive shaft 46 whichextends along a length of the body 22. A drive gear 48 may be located ata distal end of the drive shaft 46, the drive gear adapted to interactwith the cylinder gear drive 50 such when the drive gear 48 is rotatedby the drive shaft, the cylinder gear drive 50 rotates as well. When thecylinder 24 interfaces with the cylinder gear drive 50, the cylinderrotates in the same direction and at the same rate as the cylinder geardriver. In one exemplary embodiment, the electric motor 39 is adapted topower the drive shaft 46 at different rates, depending on a settingadjusted by a user.

In one exemplary embodiment, the electric motor 39 is reversible suchthat it can rotate the drive shaft 48 in either direction. A rotationdirection switch 41 may be electrically connected to the motor 39 toallow the direction of the motor to be set by a user. The motor 39 maybe powered by, for example, electricity from an electrical power cord40, a rechargeable battery, or by other means sufficient to generateenough energy to power the motor. An activation switch 38 may be used toactivate the motor 39 to drive rotation of the cylinder 24. Theactivation switch 38 may be located anywhere on the brush, but inexemplary embodiment, the rotation switch is located in a position suchthat it is activated when a pivot handle 36 is in a closed position, asdescribed in more detail below. Although a specific system includinggears is described to allow the motor 39 to rotate the cylinder 24, oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many other similarconfigurations of the driving system will achieve the same result insubstantially the same way.

An elongated styling arm may be attached to the body 22 of the hairstyling tool 20. In one exemplary embodiment, the styling arm may be abrush head 26. The brush head 26 may include an array of bristles 28mounted on a surface of the brush head and protruding toward an outersurface of the cylinder 24. The brush head 26 may also include ventholes 32 to allow hot air to enter or hot air and/or steam to escape toprevent the brush head from becoming dangerously hot. An exemplary brushhead 26 venting pattern is shown in FIG. 4.

In one exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the brush head 26 has aconcave structure such that the brush head generally conforms to thecurvature of the cylinder 24, maximizing the effective brushing surface.In a further exemplary embodiment, the brush head 26 may have a widthsuch that it extends around part of the cylinder circumference tosubtend an angle between about 20° and about 45°. The brush head 26 maybe adapted to receive and secure an interchangeable bristle blade 31,allowing users to choose from a variety of blades having, for example,different widths, different bristle densities and different bristletextures. The brush head 26 may include a groove 29 located along eachinterior side of the brush head, the grooves 29 adapted to slidinglyreceive and secure the interchangeable bristle blade 31.

With reference again to FIG. 1, the brush head 26 may be pivotally orotherwise movably attached to the body 22. More specifically, the brushhead 26 may be attached to a distal end of a lever arm 34, the lever armbeing pivotally attached to the body 22 by, for example, a transversebrush head pivot pin 35. The brush head 26 may have an open positionwherein the brush head 26 is spaced from the cylinder 24, and a closedposition (FIG. 5) wherein the brush head 26, and specifically, thebristles 28, are in contact with the cylinder. A bias means 84, such asa spring, may bias the brush head 26 into an open position. The pivothandle 36 may be provided to allow a user to move the brush head 26 fromthe open position to the close position, the pivot handle beingpivotally attached to the body 22 by a pivot handle pivot pin 37. In oneexemplary embodiment, a pivot handle gear 50 rotatably connected to thepivot handle pivot pin 37 is coupled with a brush head gear 52 rotatablycoupled to the brush head pivot pin 35. The pivot handle 36 is orientedsuch that the pivot handle is in an open position (i.e., a proximal endof the pivot handle is spaced from the body 22) when the brush head 26is in an open position and the pivot handle is in a closed position(i.e., a proximal end of the pivot handle is in contact or substantiallyin contact with the body) (FIG. 5) when the brush head is in a closedposition. Accordingly, when the brush head 26 is biased to be in theopen position, the pivot handle 36 is also biased to be in the openposition. Due to the interaction of the pivot handle gear 50 and thebrush head gear 52, when the pivot handle 26 is moved from the openposition to the closed position, the brush head 26 simultaneous movesfrom the open position to the closed position.

Referring now to FIG. 6, another exemplary embodiment of a hair stylingtool 120 includes a heating element such as a heating rod 60 which isadapted to provide heat to a cylinder 124 rotatably attached to amounting channel similarly to the previous embodiment. The heating rod60 may be electrically connected to a power source, such as the powercord 40, which provides the heating rod 60 with the ability to generateheat. A heating element switch 62 located on a body 122 allows a user toactivate and deactivate the heating rod 60.

The cylinder 124 includes a heat transfer assembly 64 attached to aninner circumferential surface of the cylinder and adapted to allow thecylinder to slide over and make contact with the heating rod 60. Theheat transfer assembly 64 may be any suitable heat transfer material,for example, plastic, metal, ceramic, or any combination thereof.Accordingly, when the heating rod 60 is heated, the heat is transferredby conduction from the heating rod to the heat transfer assembly 64 andto an exterior surface of the cylinder 124. The cylinder 124 includesholes 66, for example, concave indentations or convex protrusions, whichenhance hair engagement as the cylinder rotates. In one exemplaryembodiment, an exterior surface of the cylinder 124 is slightlycorrugated to increase the friction between the hair and the cylinder asthe cylinder rotates. Although a specific heating system, including aheat transfer assembly 64 is described to allow the heating rod 60 toconduct heat to the rotating cylinder 124, one of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that many other similar configurations of theheating system will achieve the same result in substantially the sameway, including using a radiant heating element instead of heating rod60, which may eliminate the need for a heat transfer assembly such as64.

Referring to FIG. 7, the styling arm includes a brush head 100 having acollapsible bristle assembly. With reference also to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and8C, the brush head 100 includes a brush head housing 104 adapted toslidingly receive the smoothing plate 108 into grooves 121 extendinglongitudinally along both sides of the brush head housing. The smoothingplate is heatable and in one exemplary embodiment the brush head housingmay include an integrated plug electrically connected to the smoothingplate 108. When power is supplied to the plug, the plug heats thesmoothing plate 108 allowing the smoothing plate to act similar to acurling iron or a straightening iron, as described in more detail below.

With further reference to FIGS. 8A-8C, the brush head housing 104 isalso adapted to slidingly receive a blade 105 including bristle clusters106 and rigid posts 107. In one exemplary embodiment, the blade 105includes a plurality of collapsible members 123 extending longitudinallyalong the blade and having a generally concave cross-section. Thecollapsible members 123 have an extended position in which they providefor the bristles 106 to protrude from the smoothing plate 108 (FIG. 8A)and a collapsed position in which they provide for the bristles to beretracted with respect to the smoothing plate, i.e., recessed within orsubstantially flush with the smoothing plate (FIG. 8B). The collapsiblemembers 123 are biased into the extended position, but may betransformed into the collapsed position by a force to overcome the bias.Specifically, when a sufficient compression force as indicated by thearrow in FIG. 8A is applied to the rigid posts 107 generallyperpendicular to a planar surface of the blade 105, the collapsiblemembers 123 bend to allow the bristles 106 and posts 107 to be recessedwithin the brush head housing 104 and to allow the smoothing plate 108to have a relatively smooth surface. As such, the hair brush may alsoserve as a straightening iron or a curling iron.

Another exemplary embodiment of the hair styling tool is shown withrespect to FIG. 8D. A styling arm 200 includes a housing 223 adapted toslidingly receive a smoothing plate 208 into grooves 221 extendinglongitudinally along both sides of the housing. The smoothing plate 208does not include bristles and is heatable, and in one exemplaryembodiment, the housing 223 may include an integrated plug toelectrically heat the smoothing plate. When power is supplied to theplug, the heater heats the smoothing plate 208 allowing the smoothingplate to be used to more effectively style hair.

Yet another exemplary embodiment of a brush head 110 is shown withreference to FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C. Similarly to the brush head 100, brushhead 110 includes a brush head housing 112 adapted to slidingly receivea heatable smoothing plate 115 into grooves 131 extending longitudinallyalong both sides of the brush head housing. The brush head housing 112may include an integrated plug 103 electrically connected to thesmoothing plate 108.

The brush head housing 112 is also adapted to slidingly receive a blade113 including bristles 114. The brush head housing 112 includes abristle release knob 111 a/111 b adapted to be received into a releaseknob slot 133 located on a planar surface of the brush head housing.Specifically, with reference to FIG. 9C, a hull 116 of the release knob111 a contacts a spine 134 of the blade 113 to place the blade in anextended position such that the bristles 114 protrude through thesmoothing plate 115. The spine 134 may extend along only a portion ofthe blade 113. When the release knob 111 b is slid distally along therelease knob slot 133 to a release position, (i.e., a position along theblade portion absent a spine), a compression force applied generallyperpendicular to a planar surface of the blade allows the bristles 114to be recessed into the brush head housing 112 (FIG. 9B). As such, thehair brush may also be used as a curling iron or a straightening iron.

Still another exemplary embodiment of a brush head 400 of the presentinvention is shown with respect to FIG. 12. The brush head 400 isdirected to a brush head which incorporates a brush and an integratedsmoothing plate without changing a configuration of the brush head. Morespecifically, the brush head 400 includes a plurality of brush headhousing sections 402, each housing section adapted to slidingly receivea blade 404 including bristles 408 into grooves 410 extendinglongitudinally along the housing section. In one exemplary embodiment,the brush head 400 includes two housing sections 404, but the specificnumber of housing sections is not critical. The brush head 400 mayfurther include a smoothing plate section 412 disposed between adjacenthousing sections 404, the smoothing plate section configured to providea planar surface contact with the cylinder 24 when the brush head is ina closed configuration as shown in FIG. 12. In one exemplary embodiment,the smoothing plate section 412 has a concave surface curved tosubstantially the same degree as the cylinder such that the smoothingplate section makes substantially complete contact with the cylinderwhen the brush head is in the closed position. The brush head 400 mayfurther include an integrated plug and heating element enabling thebrush head to be electrically heated.

Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown withreference to FIG. 10. A hair styling tool 320 substantially similar tothe previously described hair styling tools is provided. The hairstyling tool 320 includes a one-piece movable brush head assembly 330.The brush head assembly 330 includes a brush head 326 attached to adistal end of a lever arm 390. The lever arm 390 is generally in theshape of an “S” or an upside down “Z.” The lever arm 390 is rotatablyconnected to the hair styling tool 310 by a transverse pivot pin 391. Apivot preload spring 392 biases the lever arm 390 into an open positionsuch that the brush head 326 is spaced from a cylinder 324. When a forceto overcome the spring bias is applied to the lever arm 390, the leverarm is movable from the open position to a closed position wherein thebrush head 326 contacts the cylinder 324. The body 322 of the hairstyling tool 320 may include slots 323 which permit the lever arm 390 tobe moved between the open position and the closed position. A cylinderrotation switch 338 may be located such that it is activated when thelever arm is in the closed position and deactivated when the lever armis in the open position.

As will understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the “S” shapedlever arm configuration may also be used with any of the exemplarystyling arms described above.

Yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown withreference to FIG. 11. A hair styling tool 149 has a hinged or“clam-shell” configuration including a body 152 and a styling arm 151pivotally or otherwise movably attached to the body. In one exemplaryembodiment, the styling arm 151 may be attached by a pivot pin 153. Thepivot pin 153 may be designed so as to allow only a limited degree ofrotation between the styling arm 151 and the body 152. For example, themaximum amount of rotation may about 60 degrees. Similarly to thepreviously described hair styling tool embodiments, the body 152includes a rotatable cylinder 157 and the styling arm 151 includes abrush head 150. In one exemplary embodiment, a heating element switch155 to control heating of the cylinder 157 and the brush head 150, and arotation switch 156 to control rotation of the cylinder are located onthe styling arm 151. However, the location of such switches is notcritical, and the switches may be located anywhere that is convenientfor user access. The hair styling tool 149 may be electrically poweredthrough a power cord 154.

In one exemplary embodiment, the styling arm 151 may be biased, forexample, by a spring, into an open position such that the styling arm isnot in contact with the cylinder 24. A force to overcome the bias may beapplied to the styling arm 151 to place the styling arm in a closedposition wherein the styling arm contacts the cylinder.

The operation and use of the hair styling tool 20 will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 and 5. The hair styling tool may be used byplacing a selected portion of hair between the brush head 26 and thecylinder 24 when the brush head is in the open position (FIG. 1). Thepivot handle 36 may then be moved from the open position to the closedposition, resulting in the simultaneous movement of the brush head 26from its open position to its closed position. Placing the brush head 26in the closed position allows the brush head to clamp the selectionportion of hair between the cylinder 24 and the bristles 28 of the brushhead. Additionally, in one exemplary embodiment, placing the pivothandle 36 in the closed position triggers the rotation switch 38 toactivate rotation of the cylinder 24. Accordingly, almost any length ofhair may be brushed, shaped and styled without significant tangling inthis manner. As is apparent, the various other exemplary embodiments ofthe hair styling tools described may be used in a similar manner.Namely, hair may be placed between the styling arm and the cylinder whenthe styling arm is in the open position. Once the hair is in place, thestyling arm may be moved to the closed position to capture and style thehair. In an exemplary embodiment where the rotation direction of thecylinder is reversible, a user can use the brush with either hand orfrom either side of the head while having the cylinder rotate in thesame general direction with respect to the hair.

The brushing, shaping and styling effects may be enhanced by using theheat apparatus associated with exemplary embodiments of the brush.Specifically, the hot air fan assembly 44 or the heating rod may beactivated to heat the cylinder 24 as it rotates. Additionally oralternatively, the heatable smoothing plates 108,115, 208 or 412 of thebrush heads 100,110, 200 or 400 may be heated. The heat applied to thehair by the cylinder 24 and/or the brush heads 100,110, 200 or 400 notonly allows the hair to dry more quickly, but also provides the hairwith smoothing volume and a healthy shine.

With reference to FIGS. 8A-8C, if a user wants to use the device as acurling iron or a flat iron, a compression force generallyperpendicularly to the smoothing plate 108 may be applied to the blade105 to place the bristles 106 in the collapsed position. In thecollapsed position, the bristles 106 of the brush head are retractedwith respect to the smoothing plate 108, i.e. recessed within or flushwith the smoothing plate. Accordingly, the smoothing plate will have asmooth surface which, along with heat provided through the cylinder 24and/or through the brush head, allows the device to be used as asmoothing, straightening or curling iron. In an alternate embodimentwith reference to FIGS. 9A-9C, the user slides the release knob 111distally along the slot 133 from position 111 a to position 111 b suchthat the spine 134 of the blade 113 does not make contact with the hull116 of the release knob 111. Then, the user can apply a compressionforce to the blade 113 to cause ends of the bristles 114 to be retractedwith respect to the smoothing plate.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the combination of bristle clusters408 fixed in relationship to the heated flat iron section 412 allows theuser to simultaneously brush and smooth, straighten or curl hair withouthaving to change a configuration of the brush head 400.

With reference to FIG. 13, there is shown another embodiment of a tool1300 suitable for hair styling. The tool 1300 comprises an elongatedbody 1302 having a proximal and distal end that houses a switch 1304, acontrol circuit 1306 and a motor 1308. A cylinder 1322 is rotatablyattached to the elongated body 1302 for polishing the user's hair.Optionally the cylinder 1322 can have one or more heaters 1324 toincrease the polishing effect on a user's hair when using the tool 1300.A non-rotatable styling arm 1314 is pivotally attached to the elongatedbody 1302 with a pivot mechanism 1312. The styling arm 1314 can movebetween an open position distant from the cylinder 1322 and a closedposition proximate to the cylinder 1322. A biasing means such as, forexample, a spring, can be used for biasing the styling arm into the openposition. The styling arm 1314 can also have a heater to increase theeffectiveness of the styling tool.

The tool 1300 also has a spacing means 1320, such as, for example, anadjustable screw, a projection on the styling arm 1314, or a fixedplastic stop among others, positioned to engage a detent 1309 in thebody 1302 or a spacing arm 1321 prevents the styling arm 1314 fromcontacting the cylinder 1322. The distance between the cylinder 1322 andthe styling arm 1314 can be between 0.001 mm and 0.5 mm. In aparticularly preferred embodiment, the distance is 0.3 mm. Preferably,the motor 1308 has current overload protection as is known in the art.If current drawn by the tool 1300 exceeds a target level, such as, forexample, 7 amps of current provided from a standard electrical socket,or if too much current is being drawn by the tool 1300, the commandcircuit 1306 can intermittently turn off motor 1308 or deactivate thetool 1300 completely, like a fuse, as a safety precaution. For example,an excessive current load can happen from a short circuit in a heatingelement, or from a user clamping the tool 1300 down on the hair with toomuch pressure, thereby bypassing the spacing means, and causing thestyling arm 1314 and the cylinder 1322 to forcefully contact oneanother.

The styling arm 1314 can have interchangeable brush heads 1316 and 1317,at its distal end for evenly spacing the user's hair between the stylingarm 1314 and the cylinder 1322. The brush heads 1316 and 1317 can eachhave a plurality of bristles and variety of bristles to suit the hairtype of the user. For example, a user with coarser hair can use largerbristle brush heads 1316 and 1317 to more easily move through the coarsehair. In another embodiment, the brush heads 1316 and 1317 also have abristle release knob (not shown) with a first and second position tomove the bristles 1317 into the extended position in the first knobposition, and to collapse the bristle 1317 in the second knob position.

In another embodiment, a smoothing plate 1318 can be located between thebrush heads 1316 and 1317. The smoothing plate 1318 has a curved concavesurface, substantially the same as the cylinder 1322, to maximize theeffectiveness of the smoothing plate 1318 and the rotating cylinder1322. In one embodiment, at least some of the bristles 1316 and 1317 canextend beyond the smoothing plate 1318. In yet another exemplaryembodiment, the bristles 1316 and 1317 are movable between an extendedposition protruding past the smoothing plate 1318 and a collapsedposition in which the bristles 1316 and 1317 are retracted with respectto the smoothing plate 1318.

In one embodiment, the switch 1304 can turn the optional cylinder heater1324 on or off and can turn the motor 1308 on or off to rotate thecylinder 1322 relative to the body in a clockwise or counter-clockwisedirection. In a preferred embodiment, the control circuit 1308 canautomatically detect the direction of movement of the styling arm 1314along a user's hair when the styling arm 1314 is in a closed positionand automatically rotate the cylinder 1322 in the correct direction.Optionally, the styling arm 1314 can have a projection 1315 that canengage a switch detent 1303 in the body 1302 that can signal the controlcircuit 1306 to automatically rotate the cylinder 1322 when the userplaces the styling arm 1314 in the closed position.

With reference to FIG. 14, there is shown a cross sectional view of acylinder 1400 useful for styling hair. The surface 1402 of the cylinder1400 polishes hair shafts as they pass over the cylinder 1400. When theheating elements 1404 and 1406 are turned and the cylinder is rotated, aconsistent amount of heat is applied that amplifies the polishing effecton the hair. The cylinder 1400 can be manually or automatically set torotate and to heat according to various embodiments. The interchangeablebrush heads 1316 and 1317 distribute the hair shafts evenly over thesurface 1402 of the cylinder 1400 to decrease the time required topolish and style the users hair.

With reference to FIG. 15, there is shown a diagram 1500 of an airgapped inductor coil detector for detecting the direction of movement ofthe styling arm according to one embodiment. As can be seen, the diagram1500 comprises a motor 1502 for turning a cylinder 1522. A gear box 1504is attached to the motor 1502 for adjusting the turning speed of thecylinder 1522. A spring plate inductor 1506 is connected to the gearboxto change turning directions of the cylinder 1522. A bearing bracket1508 connects the spring plate inductor 1506 to an inductor coilassembly 1510 and is used to determine the direction that the user ismoving the hair styling tool. A magnetic conductor cover 1512 covers acontact covers a magnetic conductor pole 1514 that is used inconjunction with the inductor coil assembly 1510 to determine thedirection that the user is moving the hair styling tool. A contact cover1516 is affixed to the magnetic conductor pole 1514 and to a sensorcontact bracket 1518 to move the magnetic conductor pole along theinductor coil assembly 1510 generating electrical impulses that indicatea direction of movement of the cylinder 1522. A barrel shaft 1520 isaffixed to the contact cover 1516, the cylinder 1522 and an end cap 1524to support the cylinder 1522 during hair styling or brushing.

In a preferred embodiment, the inductor coil assembly 1510 is an airspaced inductor coil. Additionally, the magnetic conductor pole isselected from the group of magnetic field inducing materials andpreferably iron.

The air gapped inductor coil detector automatically identifies andselects the proper rotation direction of the cylinder 1522 for each passthrough the user's hair ensuring optimum brushing, smoothing and stylingof each hair section. This frees the user from having to deliberatelydetermine and select the direction of rotation in a manual orsemi-automated manner or having the device select a default direction ofrotation regardless of true optimal direction.

In one embodiment of this invention the barrel shaft 1520, the cylinder1522 and the end cap 1524 are is mechanically coupled to an ironmagnetic conductor pole 1514 that is movable in and out of an air gappedinductor coil 1510. Nominal inductance of the air gapped inductor coilvaries between 75 uh to 185 uh depending on the location of the ironmagnetic conductor pole 1514 with respect the air gapped inductor coil1510. The inductor coil 1510 is designed as a part of an RLC tankoscillator that will change the oscillation frequency output of anoperational amplifier 1608 between 8 KHz to 8.88 KHz.

With reference to FIG. 16, there is shown a circuit diagram 1600 forcontrolling the direction of the cylinder using the detector of FIG. 15.The circuit comprises at least one microcontroller 1602 used to controlthe motor's 1502 speed and direction during styling or brushing. Outputs1604 and 1606 are used to change the direction of the cylinder 1522. Anoperational amplifier 1608 is used to increase the electrical fieldcreated by movement of the iron magnetic conductor pole 1514 in relationto the inductor coil assembly 1510. When sufficient change in theinduced frequency is detected by the RLC tank circuit 1612 theoperational amplifier drives the output 1606 overriding output 1604thereby changing direction of the motor 1502 and the cylinder 1522.

When the user places as little as a single strand of hair into the hairstyling tool 1300 and begins to move the hair styling tool 1300 in adirection, the magnetic conductor pole 1514 changes position and anelectricity is conducted through the inductor coil assembly 1510. Theamount of electricity generated by the movement of the magneticconductor pole 1514 in proximity to the inductor coil assembly 1510 isdetected by the RLC tank 1612, the operational amplifier 1608 and themicrocontroller 1602. Once the amount of movement has been determined bythe circuit 1600, the motor is driven in the same direction as themovement of the hair styling tool 1300.

With reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, there is shown a graph 1700 of a tankcircuit and output frequency when an inductor L1 in the circuit of FIG.18 is 185 uh and output frequency when the inductor L1 in the circuit ofFIG. 16 is 75.5 uh respectively. Each graph 1700 and 1800 show theamount of change in a typical embodiment of the inductor coil assemble1510 and the magnetic conductor pole 1514 for directional movement ofthe hair styling tool 1300 when used by the user.

With reference to FIG. 19, there is shown a flowchart diagram 1900 of aninduction sensor system for automatically reversing direction of a hairstyling tool 1300. First, the hair styling tool 1300 is plugged into anoutlet 1902. Then, the user presses the on/off button 1904 into the onposition. Next, the sensor is reset 1906. Then, inductor limits, L-Maxand L-Min are determined 1908. Due to variation of absolute inductorvalue due to environmental conditions, manufacturing variance andcomponent tolerances, the extreme frequency ranges are examined by amicrocontroller 1602 at the beginning of each operation where themicrocontroller 1602 monitors and measures the output frequency of tankoscillator circuitry 1612. Once power up calibration is completed, themicrocontroller 1602 then automatically place the inductor 1510 in thecenter location and frequency variation with respect to the centerfrequency is then detected as counter-clock-wise (CCW) or clock-wise(CW) rotation. Next, the motor is stopped 1910. If the user closes thehandle 1912, then begins pulling hair 1914 through the hair styling tool1300, the motor rotates in the related sensor direction 1916. If theuser releases the handle 1918, then the motor is reset and the inductorlimits for L-Max and L-Min are determined 1920 again. Each step from themotor stop is repeated until the user releases the handle 1918 and isfinished hair styling 1922.

In another embodiment, there is provided a method to style a person'shair using the styling tool 1300. The user can style their hair by firstselecting the tool 1300. Next, turning on the switch 1304 and allowingthe heater to heat the cylinder 1322, the styling arm 1314 or both thecylinder 1322 and the styling arm 1314. Then, placing the user's hairbetween the cylinder 1322 and the styling arm 1314 near the scalp withthe styling arm 1314 in an open position. Next, moving the styling arm1314 to a closed position thereby causing the switch 1303 to activatethe motor 1308 to rotate the cylinder 1322 and while the cylinder 1322is rotating, styling the hair by pulling the tool toward the tips of thehair.

Although the present invention has been described with a degree ofparticularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade by way of example. As various changes could be made in the abovedescription without departing from the scope of the invention, it isintended that all matter contained in the above description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be illustrative and not used in alimiting sense.

1. A tool suitable for hair styling comprising: a body having aproximate end and a distal end; a cylinder extending from the body, thecylinder being rotatable relative to the body in both a clockwisedirection and a counterclockwise direction; a motor adapted to rotatethe cylinder both clockwise and counterclockwise; a heater to heat thecylinder; a non-rotatable styling arm supported by the body, the stylingarm being movable between an open position distant from the cylinder anda closed position proximate to the cylinder for hair styling; and adetector for detecting the direction of movement of the styling armalong a user's hair, the detector being in communication with the motorfor causing the motor to rotate the cylinder in a directioncorresponding to the direction of movement of the styling arm along theuser's hair where the detector comprises an inductor coil assembly. 2.The tool of claim 1, where the inductor coil assembly comprises: (i) amagnetic conductor pole electrically connected to the inductor coilassembly; (ii) a RLC tank circuit electrically connected to the inductorcoil assembly; and (iii) a microcontroller electrically connected to theRLC tank circuit for changing direction of the movement of the rotatingcylinder along the user's hair.
 3. The tool of claim 2, where the toolsuitable for hair styling comprises an elongated body and a cylinderthat rotates relative to the body in both a clockwise direction and acounterclockwise direction determined by movement of the magneticconductor pole of the inductor coil assembly.
 4. The tool of claim 3,where the inductor coil assembly comprises a rotatable member that ismechanically coupled to a shaft that is movable in and out of an airgapped inductor coil.
 5. The tool of claim 4, where the shaft is madefrom a magnetic field inducing material.
 6. The tool of claim 4, wherenominal inductance of the air gapped inductor coil is between 75 uh to185 uh depending on the shaft location with respect to the air gappedinductor coil.
 7. The tool of claim 4, where the RLC tank oscillator hasan oscillation frequency output by an operational amplifier between 8KHz to 8.88 KHz.
 8. A tool suitable for hair styling comprising: a) anair gapped inductor coil detector for detecting the direction ofmovement of the styling arm; b) a motor for turning a cylinder; c) agear box attached to the motor for adjusting the turning speed of thecylinder; d) a spring plate inductor connected to the gearbox to changeturning directions of the cylinder; e) a bearing bracket connecting thespring plate inductor to an inductor coil assembly used to determine thedirection that the user is moving the hair styling tool; f) a magneticconductor cover covering a magnetic conductor pole used in conjunctionwith the inductor coil assembly to determine the direction that the useris moving the hair styling tool, where the contact cover is affixed tothe magnetic conductor pole and to a sensor contact bracket to move themagnetic conductor pole along the inductor coil assembly; and g) abarrel shaft affixed to the contact cover, the cylinder and an end capto support the cylinder during hair styling or brushing.
 9. The tool ofclaim 8, where the magnetic conductor pole comprises magnetic fieldinducing materials.
 10. The tool of claim 9, where the magneticconductor pole is preferably iron.
 11. The tool of claim 8, where theair gapped inductor coil detector automatically identifies and selectsthe proper rotation direction of the cylinder for each pass through theuser's hair.
 12. The tool of claim 8, where the barrel shaft, thecylinder and the end cap are mechanically coupled to an iron magneticconductor pole that is movable in and out of the air gapped inductorcoil.
 13. The tool of claim 8, where the nominal inductance of the airgapped inductor coil is between 75 uh to 185 uh depending on thelocation of the iron magnetic conductor pole with respect the air gappedinductor coil.
 14. The tool of claim 8, where the inductor coil isoperably connected to an RLC tank oscillator that changes theoscillation frequency output of an operational amplifier between 8 KHzto 8.88 KHz.
 15. The tool of claim 8 further comprising a circuit forcontrolling the direction of the cylinder using the inductor coilassembly.
 16. The tool of claim 15, where the circuit comprises at leastone microcontroller used to control the motor's speed and directionduring styling or brushing.
 17. A method for operating a tool suitablefor hair styling comprising the steps of: a) placing at least a singlestrand of hair into the hair styling tool; b) moving the hair stylingtool in a direction causing a magnetic conductor pole to change positioncausing electricity to be conducted through an inductor coil assembly;c) detecting the amount of electricity generated by the movement of themagnetic conductor pole in proximity to the inductor coil assembly by acircuit, where the circuit comprises: 1) an RLC tank; 2) an operationalamplifier; and 3) at least one microcontroller; and d) driving a motorin the same direction as the movement of the hair styling tool detectedby the circuit.
 18. A method of using a tool suitable for hair stylingcomprising an induction sensor system for automatically reversingdirection of a hair styling tool comprising the steps of: a) pluggingthe tool into an outlet; b) a user presses an on/off button into the onposition; c) resetting a sensor; d) determining inductor limits, L-Maxand L-Min by moving a motor in two directions; e) examining extremefrequency ranges by a microcontroller at the beginning of eachoperation, where the microcontroller monitors and measures the outputfrequency of a RLC tank oscillator circuitry; f) automatically placingthe inductor in a center location; g) detecting a frequency variationwith respect to the center frequency as counter-clock-wise (CCW) orclock-wise (CW) rotation; and h) stopping the motor; i) If the usercloses the handle and begins pulling hair through the tool, rotating themotor in the related sensor direction; j) If the user releases thehandle, then the motor is reset and the inductor limits for L-Max andL-Min are determined again; and k) repeating steps a from a) through j)until the user releases the handle and is finished hair styling.